Isshani

It is still a mystery what caused the Isshani to destroy their own homeland in seeminly the blink of an eye. One thing I know for sure though, these lands now belong to the Chaos Corruption. And were there is chaos corruption there must have been people who were up to no good.

— High Sage Syronikir

Isshani is the name given to the people who lived in the ancient Isshan Empire. They were mostly known for being the inventors of many uses of the powerful Mind Magic. Because of their skill in this form of magic they were able to control a large part of the continent Oneraga.
Alas due to some unknown reason the entire Isshan Empire collapsed almost overnight. Their core regions were devestated by Chaos Corruption and survivors fled in all directions. This caused a wave of Gnome migrations across the world which has left a large influence on Gnome populations around the world.

Extra Information

Continent

They were spread out over Oneraga during their empire period and even further around the world after its colapse.

Origin

The Isshani fist lived in the Isshan peninsula in southern Oneraga.

Ruled by

Disciples of the Mind

Known For

Mind Magic, martial arts

Derived cultures

Estian, Severon, Hashiden, Ubran, Eperi, Ukeri, Tenari

History

Origin

The first mentions of the Isshani date back 2450 BF when they were already an emerging nation in southern Oneraga. At around 2350 BF they had consolidated their dominance of the peninsula that they inhabited. It is during this time that sources also mention the Isshani's superb military capabilities, which is also why they started expanding into the northern Iki Clans not soon after.
Currently it is still up for debate whether the Isshani were already very skilled in Mind Magic during this period. Their use of illusions, however, certainly dates from this period as records mention great confusion about strange effects during battles with the Isshani.

by kefkejaco with Inkarnate

by kefkejaco with inkarnate

Isshan Empire

Over time the Isshani started to conquer more territories in Oneraga. Their first conquests were mainly against the Iki Clans but not soon after they started to wage war against the Kasan Kingdoms as well. With their successfull conquest of the ancient city of Kasan, the Isshani became unstoppable.
During this period the Isshani looked for ways to increase their power. Mind Magic research led to feats never before seen. Some of the Isshani are believed to even have been able to use telekenisis to move hills, although this probably is a bit exaggerated.
In the centuries that followed they managed to create an empire that ran from the western side of Oneraga to its eastern side. Many nations of the Draconic Coast fell by the hands of the Isshani. Up until that point the Dragons and Draconids of that region were thought to have been undefeatable.

Refugees

On the height of its power the Isshan Empire fell at an astounding speed. The reason for this sudden collapse remains a mystery to this day but the entire peninsula of their homeland quickly became affected by Chaos Corruption. This caused a huge wave of Isshani who tried to get away as far as possible from the region. According to some accounts the central regions of Oneraga itself became even too dangerous to inhabit as waves of monsters were believed to have emerged from the former Isshan.
Over time, however, things must have settled down as nation started to form again in central Oneraga. The Isshani themselves split of into different factions such as the Tenari or Eperi while others merged together with other cultures such as in Kasan.

by kefkejaco with inkarnate

Culture

Mind Magic

The use and development of Mind Magic was a crucial part of the Isshani Empire. They were the first to use Illusions on a large scale and with a great degree of success. Before them the use of Mind Magic was limited as it required a well trained mind. These illusions were used during their early conquests to create distractions on the battlefield.
As time went on they started to develop new ways to use this form of magic. Telekenis became commonplace in the Empire but what was feared the most by outsiders was the Isshani's mind control abilities. This allowed them to use their enemies strongest allies against themselves. Eventually they even managed to directly cause short term insanity in their victims.
Later developments of Mind Magic were known to exist but were lost when the Isshan Empire fell. It is still a common believe that knowledge of the most advanced Mind Magic is still somewhere to be found in the ruins of the former empire.

by kefkejaco with midjourney

Halfling by Kefkejaco with Heroforge

Mind and Body

The Isshani were a rather bellicose people. Even before their knowledge of Mind Magic increased they sought for ways to increase their territories and sought for ways to do so. Their military training was hard but it offered results as their military became a well oiled warmachine.
Training both mind and body was vital to the Isshani. The training of the body ensured peak physical strength while the minde training sought to make them unwavering in the face of danger. Their ideals never allowed them to surrender and those that did were killed later as punishment. This caused them to sometimes gain phyric victories during battles that seemed impossible at first.
When the Empire fell many of the nations that followed took on some of the Isshani ideals. This is also the main reason why central Oneraga has been a region of warring nations for such a long time.

Further Reading